Shoe heel

ABSTRACT

A shoe heel comprises a support pillar mounted under the rear portion of a shoe sole, and a heel body of a rubber plastic material and having a pillar fitting hole for fitting the support pillar. The profile of the heel body is formed by grinding. Such combination enables the shoe heel to have various profiles and colors at a low cost.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a shoe, and more particularly to a versatile heel of the shoe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The conventional shoes have an independent heel, such as high heel, which is generally made of a plastic material by injection molding and is then fixed to the shoe.

[0003] Such conventional shoe heels as described above are various in style and size and are made by various molding tools at an extra cost. In light of the process limitations, the conventional shoe heels have one color or a simple mixture of various colors. Certain shoe heels are painted with a color coating or provided with a colored skin attached thereto. The coating or skin is vulnerable to discoloration or scratch, thereby undermining the appearance of the shoe heel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a shoe with a heel of various forms.

[0005] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a shoe heel of various profiles and colors.

[0006] It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a shoe heel which is cost-effective in terms of capital expenditure.

[0007] The shoe heel of the present invention comprises a support pillar mounted under the rear portion of a shoe sole, and a heel body of rubber plastic materials and provided with a fitting hole into which the support pillar is fitted. The heel body is formed by grinding. The shoe heels so made have a variety of profiles and colors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention to show that its heel body has two body portions.

[0009]FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0010]FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of the heel body of the preferred embodiment of the present invention prior to the grinding process.

[0011]FIG. 4 shows a side view of a grinding device in operation to grind the heel body of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0012]FIG. 5a is a schematic view of a heel body of the present invention to show that the heel body has two body portions of a round flat shape.

[0013]FIG. 5b is a schematic view of a heel body of the present invention to show that the heel body has two body portions of the calabash shape.

[0014]FIG. 5c is a schematic view of a heel body of the present invention to show that the heel body has two wavy body portions.

[0015]FIG. 6a is a schematic view of a heel body of the present invention to show that the heel body has one vase-shaped body portion.

[0016]FIG. 6b is a schematic view of a heel body of the present invention to show that the heel body has one body portion of a unique shape.

[0017]FIG. 6c is a schematic view of a heel body of the present invention to show that the heel body has one wavy body portion.

[0018]FIG. 7a is a schematic view of a heel body of the present invention to show that the heel body has three columnar body portions.

[0019]FIG. 7b shows a schematic view of another profile of the three body portions of the heel body of the present invention.

[0020]FIG. 8 is a side view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention to show that the inner and the outer rings of the heel body cover various body portions to have a wavy profile.

[0021]FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a heel body of another preferred embodiment of the present invention to show that the inner and the outer rings cover various body portions which have not been ground.

[0022]FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 9 to show another preferred embodiment comprising the outer ring of the heel body which covers two different body portions.

[0023]FIG. 11 is a schematic view of another preferred embodiment to show that the outer ring covers at intervals two different body portions.

[0024]FIG. 12 is a schematic view of another preferred embodiment to show that the heel body outer ring covers five different body portions.

[0025]FIG. 13 is a schematic view of another preferred embodiment to show that the inner and the outer rings cover three different body portions.

[0026]FIG. 14 is a schematic view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention to show that the profile grinding direction and the axial direction form a predetermined angle.

[0027]FIG. 15 is similar to FIG. 14 to show that the heel body outer ring covers at intervals two different body portions.

[0028]FIG. 16 is a schematic view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention to show that the heel body inner and outer rings cover in a manner that it uses the hollow pillar to fit.

[0029]FIG. 17 shows a diamond-shaped cross section of a heel body of the present invention.

[0030]FIG. 18 shows a cross sectional view of another heel body of a polygonal construction of the present invention.

[0031]FIG. 19 shows a cross sectional view of still another heel body of a triangular construction of the present invention.

[0032]FIG. 20 shows an exploded view of another support pillar and heel lift of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a shoe heel 1 of the present invention is mounted under the rear portion of a shoe sole 7. The shoe sole 7 is provided with a fixation plate 8 corresponding in location to the foot heel. The fixation plate 8 is provided with a plurality of fixation holes 85 for receiving screws 91 which are used to fix the shoe heel 1.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the shoe heel 1 of the present invention comprises the following parts.

[0035] A support pillar 10 is made of PVC, other plastic material or metal by injection molding. The support pillar 10 has a pillar body 11 which is provided at the top with a fastening portion 13 which is in turn provided with three fixation holes 15 for receiving the screws 91 which are put through the fixation holes 85 of the fixation plate 8, thereby fastening the support pillar 10 with the shoe sole 7, and in the underside with three insertion holes 17.

[0036] A heel body 30 is made by cutting the EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) material into pieces of a predetermined shape, such as cylindrical shape of this embodiment, and a predetermined thickness. The midsegment is ground to form the recessed arcuate shape. The heel body 30 has a body portion 31 and another body portion 32, which are joined together and provided from top to bottom with a pillar fitting hole 37, and in the upper portion with a joining top surface 39 cooperative in shape with the bottom of the sole 7. The heel body 30 is joined with the support pillar 10 such that the pillar fitting hole 37 is fitted over the pillar body 11 in conjunction with an adhesive.

[0037] A heel lift 50 is made of a rubber plastic material and is mounted in the bottom of the support pillar 10 for making frictional contact with the ground surface so as to stabilize the heel. The heel lift 50 has a round bottom plate 51, three protruded pins 54 corresponding to the insertion holes 17 of the support pillar 10.

[0038] The formation of the heel body 30 is described hereinafter.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, two body portions 31 and 32 are adhered together. As shown in FIG. 4, the heel body 30 is mounted on a profiling attachment (B) and is ground by a grinding device (A) in a profiling manner to form a predetermined profile.

[0040] The grinding device (A) comprises a main shaft A1, an outer press tray A3 pivoted to the main shaft A and located over the work platform, and a round grinding wheel A5 of a predetermined profile section and having on the outer surface a plurality of grinding diamond particles. The profiling attachment B comprises a bottom plate B1, and an insertion pillar B3 mounted over the bottom plate B1.

[0041] In the grinding operation, the pillar fitting hole 37 of the heel body 30 is fitted over the insertion pillar B3 of the profiling attachment B. The bottom plate B1 of the profiling attachment B is joined with the outer press tray A3 of the grinding device A. The heel body 30 is ground by the grinding wheel A5 of the grinding device A. Thereafter, it is processed to form a fastening top surface 39 cooperative with the shape of the bottom of the shoe sole 7.

[0042] The assembly of this embodiment is described hereinafter.

[0043] The pins 54 of the heel lift 50 are inserted into the insertion holes 17 of the support pillars 10. The pillar fitting holes 37 of the heel body 30 are fitted over the pillar bodies 11 of the support pillars 10 in conjunction with an adhesive. The assembly is corresponding in location to the shoe sole 7 such that the screws 91 are fastened onto the fixation holes 15 of the support pillars 10 via the fixation holes 85 of the fixation plate 8. The shoe heel is thus fixed at a low cost.

[0044] The heel body of this embodiment can be ground to have various profiles, such as flat round profile shown in FIG. 5a, calabash shape shown in FIG. 5b, and wavy shape shown in FIG. 5c.

[0045] In addition to the heel body of the preceding embodiment comprising two body portions, the heel body may comprises only one body portion. As shown in FIG. 6a, the heel body 30A has one body portion 31A of a vase shape. As shown in FIG. 6b, the body portion has

shape. As shown in FIG. 6c, the body portion has a wavy shape. The heel body may consist of three body portions, as shown in FIG. 7a. The heel body 30 c is provided with upper and lower three body portions 31 c, 32 c, 33 c, which are connected and shaped by grinding. The body portions 31 c, 32 c, 33 c are different in color and figure. FIG. 7b shows another heel body profile. The heel body may be provided with more than three body portions which are either similar or dissimilar to one another in color or figure.

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the shoe heel 1E consists of the support pillar 10 and the heel lift 50 of the preceding embodiment, with the difference being that it consists of a different heel body 30E.

[0047] The heel body of the present invention is not confined to have only one layer radially.

[0048] The heel body 30E may be covered with a body portion 31E winding from the radial periphery of the support pillar 10 and forming a pillar fitting hole 37E. The body portion 31E is covered with a body portion 32E of different color. In grinding the profile with different depths, different body portions 31E, 32E are exposed. In addition to different profiles, different colors of the body portions 31E, 32E are exhibited, thereby resulting in formation of the shoe heels of various profiles and styles.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 10, the heel body 30G is provided in the inner layer with a body portion 31G, in the outer circle with two or more body portions 32G and 33G. As shown in FIG. 11, a heel body is formed of two body portions 32G and 33G, which are arranged at interval. As shown in FIG. 12, a heel body is formed of five body portions different in color and figure.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 13, the heel body 30K is formed of three body portions 31K, 32K, 33K, which are arranged from inside toward outside and are ground to different depths to show the body portions 31K, 32K, 33K. They may have more layers.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 14, the heel body profile of another preferred embodiment is ground by a special grinding tool such that a predetermined angle Q is formed with the axial direction, thereby forming the corrugated shape. Another profile of different body portions 31M, 32M of inner and outer circles of the heel body 30M is shown.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 15, another heel body 30N is similar in profile of corrugated inclined groove of the preceding embodiment. It has an inner circle body portion 31N. Two other body portions 32N and 33N are arranged up and down at interval to cover the outer periphery of the body portion 31N, so as to enable the inside of the recessed groove to have the color of the inner circle body portion 31N. The inclined corrugated shapes of the body portions 32N, 33N have different visual effects in light of different colors and figures. In addition to the corrugated shape, the heel may have a spiral shape.

[0053] In the above two embodiments, the combination of the inner and the outer circles of the heel body may be formed by a heel body of a hollow pillar, as shown in FIG. 16, so as to replace the piece-shaped article which is wound, as shown in the preceding embodiment.

[0054] The profile of the cross section of the heel body of the present invention is not confined to the round shape of the preceding embodiment. A special profiling board may be used to profile different shapes, such as diamond shape shown in FIG. 17, polygonal shape shown in FIG. 18, triangular shape shown in FIG. 19, etc.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 20, the present invention may also use a support pillar 10A of a tetragonal shape and a heel lift 50A of a tetragonal shape. The profile of the heel lift may be different in shape from the bottom of the heel body. The heel lift and the support pillar may not be separated and may be formed integrally as one body.

[0056] The features of the present invention are as follows:

[0057] The shoe heel of the present invention can be assembled and processed with ease. The shoe heels of various shapes can be made in quantity.

[0058] The profile of the shoe heel of the present invention can be formed by a grinding tool such that various side profiles are formed. In addition, various cross sectional forms are formed rapidly to save the cost of the molding tool.

[0059] The shoe heels of the present invention have various figures and colors, which give an added visual effect in conjunction with profiles. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A shoe heel comprising: a support pillar mounted under the rear portion of a shoe sole; a heel body having a body portion with a pillar fitting hole for fitting said support pillar, said heel body having a profile which is formed by a grinding process.
 2. The shoe heel as defined in claim 1 further comprising a heel lift fixed to the bottom of said support pillar.
 3. The shoe heel as defined in claim 1, wherein said body portion of said heel body is made of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate).
 4. The shoe heel as defined in claim 1, wherein said heel body has two or more body portions joined one over another.
 5. The shoe heel as defined in claim 1, wherein said heel body has two or more body portions with inner and outer circle coverings.
 6. The shoe heel as defined in claim 1, wherein said heel body has a wavy longitudinal sectional profile.
 7. The shoe heel as defined in claim 1, wherein said heel body has a corrugated profile.
 8. The shoe heel as defined in claim 7, wherein said corrugated profile of said heel body forms with the axial direction of said shoe heel a predetermined angle.
 9. The shoe heel as defined in claim 7, wherein said corrugated profile of said heel body is a spiral grain.
 10. A shoe heel comprising: a support pillar mounted under the rear portion of a shoe sole; a heel body having a body portion with a pillar fitting hole for fitting said support pillar, and another body portion covering said body portion, said body portion having a profile which is formed by grinding and is provided with a visible inner layer.
 11. The shoe heel as defined in claim 10, further comprising a heel lift fixed to the bottom of said support pillar.
 12. The shoe heel as defined in claim 10, wherein said body portion of said heel body is made of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate).
 13. The shoe heel as defined in claim 10, wherein said peripheral body portions of said heel body has two or more in quantity and joined one over another.
 14. The shoe heel as defined in claim 13, wherein said peripheral body portions of said heel body are arranged at interval.
 15. The shoe heel as defined in claim 10, wherein said heel body has a wavy longitudinal sectional profile.
 16. The shoe heel as defined in claim 10, wherein said heel body has a corrugated profile.
 17. The shoe heel as defined in claim 16, wherein said corrugated profile of said heel body form with the axial direction of shoe heel a predetermined angle.
 18. The shoe heel as defined in claim 16, wherein said corrugated profile of said heel body is a spiral grain.
 19. The shoe heel as defined in claim 10, wherein said body portion of said heel body is formed of pieces by winding.
 20. The shoe heel as defined in claim 10, wherein said body portion of said heel body is formed of hollow pillars fitted together to form inner and outer circles. 